Are hunter-gatherer societies warlike? That question has sparked a war of its own among scientists. Now in this issue of Science, a study fires a salvo in support of peace among mobile foraging cultures.

Germany's recent push to boost a handful of its universities to the world's top ranks got a yellow light this week as an advisory council recommended taking a break from the national competition to find, and fund, Germany's top schools.

Data manipulation in a large clinical trial of a hypertension drug has raised concerns about cozy ties between researchers and drug companies and about impediments to investigating research misconduct in Japan.

Last week, Russia's science minister unveiled a draft law that would merge the Russian Academy of Sciences with two other science academies, strip it of control of its extensive real estate holdings, and abolish any distinction between full-fledged academicians and members of a lower rank.

The Department of Energy office that funds bread-and-butter research with the closest ties to energy and runs the department's big user facilities is facing a budget crunch after years of steady growth.